Chapter 28
Thanks for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter!
Also, a guest asked for some pre-teen moodiness. I tried to add some in for you. :)
Enjoy :)
Hanna rolled out of bed and sleepily made her way downstairs. She could hear her mom talking to someone. It was a woman, but Hanna didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't Emma, Regina, or Ruby. Those were the only three woman Hanna thought could be here to visit her mom. She walked down the stairs to find that red-haired woman sitting at the table. The same one she saw at Granny's the day before. Hanna wondered who she was and why she was here.
"Good morning, sweetie," Snow said to Hanna as she got to the bottom of the stairs.
"Morning," Hanna mumbled as she made her way over to the kitchen.
"Hanna, come over here for a minute. I want to introduce you to our guest," Snow told her.
Hanna groaned, she really just wanted some cereal, but she went over to meet her mom's new friend.
"Hanna, this is Zelena. She's a midwife, and I've asked her to help with the baby. Zelena this is my daughter Hanna," Snow said as she introduced the two.
"It's so nice to meet you," Zelena said with a smile as she reached out to shake Hanna's hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Hanna said as she reached out her hand. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she didn't trust this woman. That sickly sweet smile seemed fake.
"Can I go get some cereal now?" Hanna asked her mom.
"Yeah, go ahead," Snow told her. She knew her daughter liked to eat as soon as she got up in the mornings.
Hanna made her way into the kitchen. She got out the milk, a bowl and a spoon. She went over to the cupboard where the cereal was and sighed when she opened the door. Her favorite cereal was gone.
"Mom, where are the Fruit Loops?" Hanna practically whined.
"I don't know Hanna. Emma was here this morning, maybe she ate the last of them."
Hanna rolled her eyes. Emma. She always ate the last of the Fruit Loops. She was back in town for not even two days and she was already eating all of the cereal. Hanna was pretty sure there was more than just one bowls worth left in the box too. It was typical Emma to eat more than her share. Hanna's only other choice was Cheerios. She poured some in her bowl and sprinkled lots of sugar on top to make them sweeter. Hanna walked past her mom and towards the couch with her cereal. She knew she wasn't suppose to eat in there, but she was hoping her mom wouldn't say anything since she had company.
"Hanna, where are you going with that? Come eat in here with us," Snow told her.
"Mom, can I please eat in here?" Hanna asked, trying to give her mom "the eyes" so she would say yes. It didn't work very often, but she had to try.
"No Hanna," Snow said, not even phased by her pleading look.
"Mom, come on it's just cereal," Hanna tried.
"Hanna, come eat in here please," Snow said trying to keep her patience.
"Ugh whatever," Hanna said with a roll of her eyes as she sat down at the table with her mom and the suspicious midwife, setting her bowl down a little harder than she should have.
"Hanna do not roll your eyes at me and lose the attitude," Snow whispered as she gave her daughter a look. A look that told her she better stop this now because they had a guest over.
"Sorry," Hanna said as she looked down. She knew exactly what that look from her mother meant, so she chose to lose the attitude…for now at least.
Hanna ate her cereal and listened as her mom told Zelena all about how she met her Prince Charming. That's when the man himself walked in.
"Okay, so I'm here, shall we get this thing started?" David said as he sat down at the table after being introduced to Zelena.
"Oh. It sounds like you mean 'shall we get this thing finished?'" Snow whispered to her husband.
Hanna was just sitting back eating her bowl of cereal, but she heard the little exchange between her parents. She looked up and met eyes with her father, raising her eyebrows at him. David sighed as Snow suggested they get some tea. Zelena offered to make it and got right up and made her way over to the kitchen.
"I mean isn't she wonderful?" Snow asked her husband.
"Yeah, she seems perfect. But can we trust her? We don't even know her," David said.
"I'm with dad. We don't even know who she is. What if she's the Wicked Witch?" Hanna said with a shrug of her shoulders. It was possible.
"Shhh," Snow said as her eyes glanced towards the kitchen. She didn't want Zelena overhearing what they were saying. "Look, let's just hear her out, okay?"
David nodded his head in agreement. Hanna just shrugged her shoulders again. For some reason she didn't trust this woman…she just had a bad feeling about her. Her mom seemed to like her, so Hanna would just try not worry about it.
The meeting seemed to go well. Her dad hadn't stayed for too much of it. Hanna bailed as soon as she finished her cereal and went to watch TV. She didn't pay much attention. She just knew it was over when she looked up to find Zelena gone and her mother in the kitchen cleaning.
"Mom, what's Henry doing today?" Hanna asked. She knew Emma and her dad were out looking for the witch, and they definitely wouldn't have let Henry tag along. Usually, Henry was with Hanna when the adults went out in search of the latest bad guy.
"He's with Regina," Snow told her.
"Why?" Hanna asked. Henry didn't have his memories. He didn't know Regina was his mother. Wouldn't Henry find it odd that he was hanging out with the Mayor of Storybrooke? Hanna wondered what explanation they gave Henry about that.
"Well, Regina wanted him to be with someone who could protect him from the Wicked Witch…someone with magic," Snow said as she dried the last plate and put it in the cupboard.
"Oh, okay" Hanna said with a sigh. She wished that Henry could have hung out with her today. She missed him, plus she really wanted to play his Game Boy thing. She was so close to beating that level last time.
Hanna was upstairs getting ready for bed when she finally heard her dad come through the door. He had been gone all day looking for that witch, leaving Hanna stuck at home all day with her mom, who continued to read those crazy baby books and clean as if the loft was filthy, which it wasn't. She quickly threw her pajamas on and made her way down the stairs. She was hoping that they would let her stay up since he had just gotten back.
When Hanna got down to the bottom of the stairs she noticed the serious looks on her parents' faces and their hushed voices talking. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but she thought she heard her mom say something about being a great father. Hanna didn't really think anything of it though.
"Dad you're home!" Hanna said as she ran over to him.
"There's my girl!" David said with the biggest smile on his face as he picked her up in his arms and hugged her tight, cradling her head with his hand.
Charming had a rough day and was glad to see his little girl. While looking for the Wicked Witch, he came upon someone in the forest. He thought it was the witch, but he was wrong. When he pulled back the hood, he saw himself. For a split second he thought that somehow his twin brother had come back from the dead or something, but he soon realized that wasn't the case. He was battling a sinister version of himself…a version of himself that made him face his deepest fears. David tried to fight it off, saying that he wasn't afraid of anything, but he eventually gave in. He was able to defeat it when he admitted to himself that he was afraid…afraid of not being a good father. He was terrified about being a father to this new little baby that would be coming soon. He had no idea what he was doing. He couldn't help but think about how he hadn't gotten the chance to raise Emma and Hanna. Emma was an adult, she's lived through her whole childhood and teenage years. He had only missed the first ten years of Hanna's life, but it was still a lot of time. He missed so much. He wasn't able to be there for them like he should have. They had to practically raise themselves in this world. No one to care for them or look out for them. He could be there for his girls now though. Emma might be all grown up, but she still needed him, even if she didn't want to admit it. Hanna still had a lot of growing up to do and needed her daddy. He would be a great father to his children…to all of his children, no matter how old there were or how much time he'd missed with them.
"Uh, dad. Are you ever going to let go of me?" Hanna asked when he kept hugging her for way longer than usual.
"Oh, yeah sorry," Charming said as he put her back down.
"Are you okay?" Hanna asked, noticing the weird look on his face.
"I'm fine. I just missed you," David told her with a smile.
"I missed you too, you were gone like all day. Did you at least catch that stupid witch?" she asked.
"No, not yet. We'll keep looking tomorrow."
"It's getting late. I'm sure you're tired Charming. Why don't we all head to bed," Snow suggested.
"No, mom I want to stay up. I'm not even tired," Hanna whined.
"Hanna, your father is exhausted and it's late…"
"Snow, it's fine. How about we all stay up and watch a movie?" he suggested. He didn't want to go to bed just yet. He wanted to spend some time with his little girl, especially after the day he had.
"Yeah can we?" Hanna asked with excitement. "And will you make us some hot chocolate Mom? Please, please?"
"Alright," Snow said with a laugh. She knew why her prince wanted to stay up even though he looked like he could pass out at any moment, and how could she say no to her sweet little daughter asking for hot chocolate like a 4-year-old. "You two go pick out the movie."
Within 10 minutes of finishing their hot chocolates, Hanna and Charming were both sound asleep. Charming was stretched out on the couch and Hanna was laying next to him…or rather practically on top of him. She hogged the couch, just as much as she hogged the bed when she slept. Snow got up and cleared their mugs from the coffee table. She went into the kitchen and washed them up and put them away. She turned the movie off and went to wake her sleepyheads.
"Charming, wake up," Snow said softly as she brushed her hand along his cheek.
"Huh? Is the movie over?" he asked, still half asleep.
"No, but you two fell asleep on me. Come on, let's go to bed."
"No, no, we're good here," Charming said as he held on tighter to his little girl.
"David, you can't be comfortable sleeping on the couch," Snow told him.
"Snow, I'm fine. I promise. I don't want to wake her," he told his wife with a smile.
"Alright," Snow said as she started to get up.
"Wait," David said as he reached for his wife's hand and pulled her back down to him.
"What is it?" Snow asked.
"I need my goodnight kiss," he said with a grin.
"I think I can help you with that," Snow said as she leaned in and gave her husband a kiss goodnight.
"Thank you," Charming said with a smile.
"Goodnight," Snow said as she got up and draped a blanket over them. She leaned down to give Hanna a kiss goodnight too and decided to steal another one from her husband.
Charming kept his strong arms wrapped around his baby girl. He would always be there for her. He would be a great father to her, Emma, and the new baby. He knew he could do this now and he wasn't afraid.
"Where is everyone?" Hanna asked when she woke up and realized she was home alone with her mom again.
"They're out tracking Mr. Gold," Snow said as she came and sat down on the couch next to Hanna.
"Gold? He's here? He's alive?" Hanna asked as she sat up. The last thing she remembered about him was that he sacrificed his own life in order to destroy Pan.
"Yeah, they found out that the witch has been keeping him in her storm cellar, but he's not there now, so they're out looking for him. We're hoping he can tell us who this witch is once and for all," Snow told her.
"I'm surprised you're not out there with them," Hanna told her mom. It wasn't like her to miss out on all the action, especially since she was really good at tracking.
"You're father insisted that I stay home and rest," Snow said with a roll of her eyes. She was pregnant, not incompetent. She could take care of herself and the little bundle of joy inside of her.
"Well, can Henry come over and hang out with us today?" Hanna asked. If she was going to be stuck at home all day again, she wanted to at least hang out with someone her own age.
"Uh, well…he can't," Snow winced as she looked over at Hanna, knowing she wasn't going to be happy about this.
"Why not?" Hanna groaned.
"He's out fishing with Leroy today," Snow told her.
"What? Why couldn't I go?" Hanna asked. She wasn't really into fishing much, but it was better than staying home.
"First of all, it's past 10 and you have to get up early if you want to catch the good fish. Plus, there's a Wicked Witch running around and I want you here with me," Snow said as she pulled Hanna in for a hug. She couldn't force Emma and Henry to stay home, as much as she may have wanted to, but she could keep Hanna right here with her.
"Can we at least go somewhere today?" Hanna asked, her voice getting whinier than it was before.
"We'll see. I have a lot I need to do today. I have to get this place cleaned and ready for the baby. There's so much to do. You can help me," Snow said as she got up and pulled Hanna along with her.
Hanna was confused, the place was clean. Her mom had cleaned all day yesterday, even though she really didn't need to. The loft was always clean. What more could there possibly be to do?
Unfortunately for Hanna, Snow was in the nesting phase. This happens to women who are pregnant. They want to get the house just right for the new baby that's coming along. Snow needed the house to be perfect. She just couldn't seem to get things around here organized or clean enough. She was even worse when she was pregnant with Emma and Hanna…she had a whole palace to worry about back then.
"Mom, I don't want to do this anymore," Hanna said as she threw the pile of socks her mom was making her sort. There were no matching socks in here.
"Okay, that's fine. You've helped enough. You can go watch TV or something. I can do the rest," Snow told her with a smile, trying to ignore the completely annoyed look on her daughter's face and the fact that she threw the socks everywhere.
"No! I don't want to watch TV," Hanna said as she stood up and crossed her arms, giving her mom a glare. She was tired of her mom keeping her cooped up inside.
Snow took a deep breath and counted to three before answering. Hanna was mouthy all day yesterday, and it looked like today wasn't going to be any better. This child was getting on her last nerve. "Then go read a book or something," Snow told her as she started to pick up the socks.
"No, I want to go somewhere. I'm tired of being here. It's so boring," Hanna told her as she rolled her eyes.
"Hanna, I have too much to do here and you can't go anywhere by yourself, so find something to do here," Snow said, ignoring Hanna's eye roll. If that girl did it one more time though, she was going to regret it.
"Ugh, you're being ridiculous!"
"You know what?" Snow said as she threw the socks back onto the ground and stood up. "You can clean up these socks that you threw, and then you can just go upstairs to your room."
Hanna's mouth fell open as she watched her mom walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. Hanna kneeled down onto the ground and threw the socks back into the stupid basket and went upstairs, stomping her feet on the way up for good measure.
Snow gently rubbed circles on her temples, trying to prevent the headache that her moody daughter was surely going to give her. She knew Hanna was acting like this because she had been stuck inside for the past couple of days, but it was no excuse. It didn't give her license to act like a brat. Snow had planned on taking her out later once David and Emma had gotten home with Henry. She thought they could all go out to get dinner or something. Now, she wasn't so sure if she was going to let Hanna go anywhere unless she changed her attitude.
Hanna occupied herself in her room for about an hour before she started to get hungry. Her mom didn't say how long she had to stay up here, but she figured it had been long enough. She made her way downstairs, hoping her mom had made lunch.
"What's she doing here?" Hanna asked, a little more rudely than she realized, when she saw Zelena in the kitchen with her mom.
"Hanna, come with me please," Snow said as she grabbed Hanna by the arm and pulled her into her bedroom. "Excuse us," she told Zelena.
"What?" Hanna asked with a roll of her eyes.
"First of all, stop it with the eye rolls. I don't want to see it again, understand?" Snow said as she grabbed Hanna by the chin, forcing her to look at her.
Hanna nodded her head, she didn't even realize she rolled her eyes.
"Secondly, you do not talk to a guest in our house that way. It's rude."
"I just asked what she was doing here," Hanna said innocently.
"It was the way you asked, Hanna, it wasn't very polite," Snow told her with a raise of her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry," Hanna said.
"It's not me you need to apologize to," Snow said as she moved her eyes towards the kitchen.
"Mom, no…" Hanna started to complain.
"Just do it, Hanna. I made some sandwiches for lunch. You can have one afterwards. I know you came down here because you're hungry," Snow told her with a smirk as she went back into the kitchen.
Hanna groaned and followed her mom into the kitchen. "Where'd she go?" Hanna asked when the midwife was no longer there.
"She must be in the bathroom," Snow whispered as she pointed to the bathroom. The doors were shut, so that must be where she was.
"No sandwiches until you apologize," Snow said as she moved the plate away from Hanna's outstretched hand. "I'm going to go switch the laundry load."
Hanna sighed and had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She did not feel like apologizing to that woman, she was really hungry, and her mom was getting on her last nerve. She was done. She didn't care anymore. She picked up a couple of sandwiches and made her way to the door. She grabbed her coat and shoes and quietly left the loft.
